A Cold Light
by Paper Ballerina
Summary: The story of Tauriel, Kili and Legolas. Legolas never thought anything could come between him and his love for Tauriel until a band of Dwarves are captured in Mirkwood. Tauriel never thought she could love until she spoke to a certain dwarf prisoner And Kili after a life as a blacksmith, never thought he would never see anything so beautiful as the Elven lady with the auburn hair.
1. Auburn leaves and blue butterflies

Thin threads of sunlight pierced through the dense autumn canopy of Mirkwood as a young auburn haired elf stood at the cusp of the woodland. She had lived all her life in the woodland realm and knew Mirkwood better than she knew herself at times. From foothills of the Grey Mountain in the north to the river Anduin to the south, she had every detail committed to memory. There was little in the woodlands that escaped her keen observation. To some, her vast knowledge of the elven territories may have seemed trivial, but to her it was all she had to occupy herself from boredom. After six hundred years, she longed for adventure or excitement or at the very least a change from the daily routine. She did not know exactly what she wanted but she knew she longed for _something _more. She tried not to think about feelings of longing; she thought it childish to pine over silly dreams. Instead, She thought it better bury such feelings and deny their existence. After all, why should she let her otherwise happy life be disrupted by silly fancies or outlandish dreams? She shook her head at such nonsense and stepped gracefully onto the forest floor, barely disturbing a discarded leaf or unfurling fern as she traversed through the foliage and into the forest.

It was autumn in the Mirkwood. Many trees were bare and the remaining leaves had turned copper and bronze and gave off a golden hue as though the forest was ablaze. Underneath the flame coloured canopy the slender elf made her way through the dense forest. She walked without aim or destination; she simply walked for the pleasure of being alone amongst nature. All around her leaves of copper, gold and bronze pirouetted from the canopy above and landed before her leather clad feet. _It will be winter soon_, she thought to herself as she looked up towards them. High above, sunlight escaped through thin cracks amongst the leaves. She held out her hand to see the dappled light and shadows make a dappled pattern on her creamy skin. She smiled as she gazed upon it and turned her hand to see the pattern move. That's when she heard the crunching coiling of a taut bow string and the snap of its release.

She caught the arrow before she even realised it was whistling through the air towards her. She held it where she caught it and turned her head to look at it. It was at eye level but good six inches away from her face, hardly as though it intended to harm her, and came from above in the canopy. Without looking, and in one swift movement, she reached for her own bow, turned and fired the arrow back towards the direction it came from. The arrow disappeared into the golden leaves behind the figure of a male elf, causing a flurry of blue butterflies to panic and flutter around him.

'You're getting tardy, Tauriel. You didn't even hear me approach' He called down; a bright smile was spread wide across his face as he uttered a soft and friendly laugh.

'Surely you can aim better than that, Legolas' she replied with a demure smile.

For a moment, they stood smiling and gazing upon each other. He looked down upon the lovely auburn haired elf standing amongst the falling autumn leaves and felt a warmth sweep across him. In that instance, His affection grew even more. _Tauriel… _He thought, willing himself to speak but did not want to ruin the moment_._ She looked up and saw her childhood companion standing sliver haired amongst a swirling mass of sapphire butterflies ready to seek out mischief once again. _But we are no longer children_…a voice in her head reminded her. The thought saddened her and made her smile fade. Legolas gracefully descended down from the branches of the oak tree to join her on the ground and gallantly offered her his arm. The gesture restored her smile but she hesitated to take his arm.

'Am I not allowed to join you on your adventures? Are you much too grand for my company now?' Legolas teased, holding his arm for her to take. Tauriel raised a playful eyebrow at his comment about her being "too grand".

'Are you forgetting that the feast of Starlight is tonight? Surely, your father is expecting you to have some hand in the preparations. But here you are in the woods, neglecting your duties _again_.' She teasingly chided, taking his arm. She felt his arm tense under her touch and his expression change from playful to almost un-nerved. The change happened in an instant, so quickly that she questioned whether it had happened at all.

'My father is unlikely to notice my absence for an afternoon. Where's the harm? Come on, Tauriel. Let's go on an adventure.' He said energetically, leading them through the falling leaves and deeper into the Mirkwood. Tauriel humored his enthusiasm let herself be led. After all, where was the harm?

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><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong> _My first fanfic in FOREVER! It's a bit short, granted, but I always prefer a short intro chapter just to get the ball rolling. The story is going to follow the movie plot but is going to take massive liberties and add extra bits. But so far, what do you think? Hopefully you guys will like it but comment or flame as you wish.


	2. The sickly pink bud

Legolas was lost deep in his thoughts as they stepped over the giant roots of an old oak tree. Tauriel had seemed happy to take his arm and walk with him. He even thought that she occasionally pressed her body against his or gave his arm a gentle squeeze as they walked. Was it deliberate or was she jostled by the rough terrain? In any case the sensation of her being so close was agonising and yet breathtakingly exquisite. He could barely stand it and yet wouldn't dare pull away. He looked down at Tauriel as they walked. She seemed oblivious to his gaze; smiling contentedly as she surveyed forest. Legolas' eyes followed the line of her cheek, the sweep of her red hair, the curve of her neck. She was not the Elvish ideal of beauty. She was a lowly Silvan Elf with unfashionable chestnut hair and yet Legolas still thought her lovely.

He did not know when he had started to love her. Perhaps he always had. They had been childhood companions, thick as thieves, playing in these very woods. Yet somewhere between the games of hide and seek and target practice an affection had taken seed. Now he could not think about her without his heart fluttering in his chest. Her smile, her eyes, her lack of pretence, all of which he loved dearly. He knew that his feelings were stronger than those of a mere friend. That they extended far beyond simple affection. Yet he lacked the courage to voice such things. How could he? He did not know Tauriel's feelings on the matter or if she had any at all. Not only that, He was an Elven prince and as such couldn't afford to make a spectacle of himself by expressing his _feelings_. Yet this infatuation could not go on indefinitely. He couldn't stand it if it did. He turned his head away from Tauriel and tucked her arm further under his own. He knew of a place that she was unlikely to have visited on the edges of the woodland. It was farther than he had intended to travel, but if it meant he got to be close to her for a little while longer he didn't mind the distance.

Legolas led Tauriel through the woodland towards thick and tangled thorn bushes. He explained that they had once been magnificent rose bushes grown by the first elves and that this had been a beautiful garden centuries ago. Or at least that was what he was told by his servants. Legolas pulled out his sword and with great swings of his arm hacked at the twisting withered branches of the thorn bush. Tauriel stepped back, watching him clear a path through the thorny tendrils yet she felt reluctant to go any further.

'This is the edge of the woodlands. Your father will be displeased if he knew we were here' she said matter-of-factly, avoiding the projectile splinters and thorns as the vines crumbled and collapsed under the sword. Legolas turned to face her, panting slightly, and offered her an easy smile.

'My father favours you and is hardly likely to punish me. Where's your sense of fun, Tauriel? The elf I grew up with would have clambered through the thorns and would be exploring the garden by now.' He said stepping aside to let her pass through the newly cleared entrance. She passed him and entered the garden with a smile on her face. He knew that she couldn't help smiling when he was in her company. _Perhaps it is a sign that there is hope for me yet?_ He thought, breathless at the thought. He placed a pale hand on his chest and felt the familiar fluttering of his heart. He smiled in spite of himself and followed her in.

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><p>The Garden was a small plot of dilapidated land surrounded by tall thorn bushes and brambles. The only traces to prove it had ever been a garden were strangled amongst the weeds and wildflowers. Poking out from the nests of thistles and ivy vines were rare and beautiful flowers. <em>They must have been brought to the woodland as part of a great decorative flower bed<em>, Legolas assumed. Tauriel knelt besides one of them, struck by its beauty even though its steam was ravaged by rot and other diseases.

'What is it?' She asked almost to herself as she gazed down at a sickly pink bud.

'A Hibiscus or a pansy, I think. In truth, I don't really know' He confessed, knelling down beside her. He could see that she was glowing with delight at this new discovery. Of all the things he knew, he knew that she loved exploration and flowers. A flower was such a simple thing to take pleasure when he thought about it. Yet watching her delight and being part of it, made him forget to think about how silly flowers were. She leaned forward and cupped her hands around the flower bud, not daring to touch it and yet being tempted to do so. Legolas felt himself in a similar position, although it was not a sickly pansy he longed to touch...

They were side by side, mere inches apart and yet to Legolas it felt like the width of the river Anduin. He longed to touch her cheek, cup her chin and lightly place his pale lips on her rosy ones. He felt bitter shame at his cowardice and willed himself to say something at least. _Come on, you coward. Stop your gawking and DO something… _

'Tauriel, I….' He began. He looked down at the ground, disheartened that he had barely uttered two words before faltering.

'Yes?' She asked, concerned by his sudden sombre tone. As she turned to face him, her hands brushed against the withered flower bud causing the blackening petals to dislodge and fall into her hands. She gasped dropping the rotten pink petals onto the ground. For a moment they were silent and both looked upon the decaying bare stem and scattered blackened petals. Legolas felt his heart sink, was this an omen symbolising his plight? Were his hopes dashed by his reluctant tongue and a rotten flower? Before he could come to any sort of conclusion he heard a loud racket in the distance.

'Legolas!' Tauriel cried quickly getting to her feet and reaching for her bow. He sprang up; alert and aiming his bow back towards the forest. The racket comprised of a gaggle of sounds from deep within Mirkwood; The snap of branches, the cries of men, the clatter of iron blades and the high pitched screams of spiders. The elves looked at each other, knowing that they must do something. Tauriel lowered her bow and pulled a small ivory horn from her belt. She blew through it three sharp times to summon the elven border guards before returning it to her belt and dashing off towards the sounds of a struggle. Legolas looked on knowing there was nothing he could do except watch as his moment to tell Tauriel about his love for her came and went. He felt engulfed by shame and despair but could not let the stop him. After a moment alone to swallow his sadness, he followed suit and sprinted after her.

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><p><strong>Author's Note; and so begins Legolas being cockblocked by a Dwarf…Thanks so much for the feedback so far, you guys really have been so kind and supportive! Keep reviewing and let me know what you like or what you don't. And well you can probably guess who turns up in the next chapter, so I'll try posting asap. Also sorry about the lack of proper paragraphs, none of the word file formats seem to work with doc manger.<strong>


	3. Thud

_Thud._

Kili felt branches snap under his stocky frame as he was jolted back into conciseness. In truth, whatever hit him bloody hurt. It almost hurt as much as one of Bombur's back hands. _What's goin' on ere' then…? _He wondered groggily, tossing his head from side to side and wriggling from discomfort. Then it struck him; _Hang on, When did I fall asleep? _The realisation made his eyes spring open and a yell burst from his mouth. Everything in front of him was white. He couldn't move his limbs. He felt the constricted by the whiteness and felt panic rise within him. Panic made him unable to think of what to yell so instead he just made guttural screams.

'Kili!' He knew at once it was Fili and the knowledge made him wriggle and fight against the white confines even more. _What is this stuff?_ He thought angrily as he struggled. He felt his skin prickle with sweat as he got more and more frustrated and panicked. He looked at the whiteness, contemplating whether or not to bite at it with his teeth when it tore open before his very eyes. He froze, startled by the sudden flood of light as a strong arm grabbed him roughly by the collar of his shirt and hauled him up. His uncle, Thorin Oakenshield, held onto his collar while giving him a measured look.

'Are you hurt?' Thorin asked in a low husky voice. Kili shook his head silently, too bemused to answer back. Thorin's stern expression relaxed and he released the young dwarf. The change in expression was the closest thing to a smile Kili had seen him mustered in days. As Thorin walked away, Kili looked around to see what was happening.

They were still in the Mirkwood yet it was much darker. Kili looked up to see where the sun was and found the sunlight obstructed by giant silken spider webs. He then realised that he had been spun into a cocoon like a fly. The thought angered and disgusted him in equal measure. He stood for a moment digesting that information and feeling his skin crawl in revulsion. He looked down from the great web and traced where had he had fallen from and had landed and saw several more wriggling cocoons. He ran quickly towards them, picking up a broken branch and ripping at the nearest cocoon. He stabbed and tore at the millions of web fibres until the snarling face of Dwalin gradually started to appear. _C'mon_, Kili bit his lip in concentration as he dropped the branch and started to tear the cocoon open with his bare hands. As soon as he could, Dwalin lunged forward head-butting Kili in the process.

'Sorry about that, Laddie' Dwalin grunted as he scrambled to his feet. Kili smiled and gestured his hand flippantly as if to say; it's nothing really. Only as he tried to walk towards another one of the cocoons did he feel his head pound and his body sway. So far today: he had fallen from a tree and been 'nutted by Dwalin. Kili decided that today was not going to be a good day. He set about the next cocoon freeing Bifur quicker than he had Dwalin. As Bifur emerged, Kili made a point of leaning back; He certainly didn't want to be 'nutted by Bifur, what with the axe in his head. Kili gave Bifur his hand and pulled him to his feet. Behind them, the other dwarves had emerged and were dusting the cobwebs off themselves in big ungraceful swipes.

'Where's Bilbo?' Bofur asked looking around desperately.

'I'll go find him' Kili had said it and his legs had started moving before he had even thought about it.

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><p>As always, Kili had been foolhardy and hadn't thought before he acted. Now he was alone and unarmed in a forest that was completely unknown to him. He couldn't hear the protests from the other dwarves and an unsettling silence had fallen over the forest. As he trod through the undergrowth, he felt a growing pang of regret. <em>Perhaps looking for Mr Baggins wasn't such a good idea… <em>Kili thought feeling his bravdo shrivel. He began to take measured and uncertain steps over the uneven forest floor when a shadow cast over him. He spun around to face it but was instantly pinned to the ground by a large spider. The spider loomed over the dwarf, salivating at the prospect of eating him. So much so that Kili could see long threads of saliva dangling towards him. He kicked at the Spider, but the foul creature caught his foot in its gaping mouth and pulled him towards its nest. As he was dragged, he scrambled desperately amongst the undergrowth to find something, anything, that he could use as a weapon. As he struggled, he could the clang of a sword and laboured breath of combat behind him. At first he thought it was Fili come to rescue him from another scrap but then he heard the twang of a bow string and saw an arrow scatter skull of the spider that was attached to his foot. He turned his head quickly to see vaguely who had shot the arrow. At this moment in time, as long as it wasn't a goblin or an Orc, he didn't really care. Liberated and finding himself in the midst of combat, He felt his pulse surge with adrenalin. He sprung up on to his feet looking for the next possible threat. Heading directly towards him was another giant spider. He glanced briefly back to whoever saved him.

'Throw me a dagger' He urged them. The person seemed oblivious to his need and continued to slice at another spider with a dagger in both hands. 'Quick!'

The spider was only a foot or so away, preparing itself to pounce. Kili could only watch and wait to see if his request would be granted. Then the person spoke.

'If you think I'm giving you a weapon, _Dwarf_. You are mistaken.' The person called over their shoulder as they stabbed one spider and spun around throwing the other dagger into one of the numerous eyes of the pouncing spider. And so it was that two spiders were killed in one gracefully turn of the body. Kili was in a state of shock. Firstly he had almost been eaten by several spiders (even for something as small as a dwarf he wasn't used to being food for insects). Secondly that whoever had saved him had referred to being a dwarf so disdainfully (which he was not unaccustomed to) and thirdly when he saw his saviour.

When he had turned to face who ever had saved him he had not been prepared for what he had seen. Before him stood a tall Elven maid but she wasn't like those haughty ones in Rivendale. She stood before him panting lightly from combat and yet smiled brilliantly at her triumph. For a moment, he saw her eyes flicker onto him and even thought she was smiling at him. _Can't have been,_ he reasoned. Why would the likes of her smile at me?

The Elven maid inclined her head silently gesturing for him to move. Kili acquiesced with a long drawn out sigh, certain now that the smile had not been meant for him.

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><p>'Are the spiders dead?' Legolas choose to speak Elvish as Tauriel approached. He would not speak the common tongue unless to offer insult to the Dwarfish vagabonds. He took note that a small scruffy dwarf trailed ungracefully behind Tauriel. The thought of Tauriel having to be in proximity to traitorous Dwarfs made his pale skin crawl in revulsion.<p>

'Yes but more will come' Tauriel answered observing the dwarf captives as she resumed her place beside Legolas. An hour ago, he would have relished her being so close but now he had too much on his mind. Spiders and dwarfs were invading the borders and know Tauriel thinks there is more to come. He respected her opinion on such matters yet he couldn't help cocking his head questioningly.

'They are growing bold.' She said with certainty. Legolas nodded his head gravely. _It seems our journeys to forgotten gardens are at an end… _Legolas thought grimly, still morning his opportunity to express his feelings to Tauriel. He turned away, determined not to let his emotions undermine his authority.

'Search them. Check their scabbards, turn out their pockets, hang them upside down from their boots if you must. I want them completely unarmed. ' Legolas commanded the Elvish border guards. As the set about their work, Legolas turned back towards Tauriel.

'Are you hurt?' he asked staring at her face, ready to detect any clue she was shielding him from the truth.

'No. It would take more than a few spiders to hurt me.' She said lightly, trying to put him at ease. She knew why his mood was black; his father would hold him in some way responsible for the invasion of spiders and dwarves. Her gentle words didn't soften the frown on his face or the tenseness of his shoulders. She felt badly for him baring the weight of his father's expectations.

'I saw you with the dwarf captive. Don't trust them Tauriel. They are thieves and liars, all.' Legolas said in a low growl of anger. It sounded like more like Thranduil's bitterness than Legolas. But he mimicked such words to please his father. Nothing would please Thranduil more than to know that no one had forgotten the insult dwarves had done him. Old alliances be damned. All she could say in response was to nod her head and lower her eyes. Legolas stepped away, heading briskly towards the ragged Dwarves, accusing them of theft of an Elven blade. Tauriel ignored the argument and found her eyes sought out the dwarf she had caught.

He seemed to be the youngest of the group perhaps, she thought, because he did not have a full beard. Yet despite Elven men having hairless smooth skin, she found the shaggy stubble strangely endearing. She snapped herself out of such thoughts as she heard Legolas command the border guards to take the captives back to the Woodland Realm. As they made their way back with their captives, she laughed at herself for thinking that Dwarves could be endearing. Yet despite her soft laughter, she couldn't help a queasy and uncertain feeling in the pit of her stomach.

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><p><em><strong>Author's Note: <strong>_**Sorry it took awhile to upload but here's chapter three introducing Kili! The chapters will get longer and more detailed as the story progresses. Just introductions have to be made so for that i like to keep things short. R&R as always guys, because reviews do encourage me to upload. **


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